Substrate liquid processing apparatus and method, and computer-readable storage medium storing substrate liquid processing program

Abstract

Provided is a substrate liquid processing apparatus that processes a substrate with a processing liquid. The substrate liquid processing apparatus includes: a processing liquid storage unit configured to store the processing liquid therein; a processing liquid heating unit configured to heat the processing liquid, a controller configured to control the processing liquid heating unit; a temperature sensor; and a concentration sensor connected to the controller. The controller is configured to: measure a concentration of the processing liquid with the concentration sensor, measure a temperature of the processing liquid with the temperature sensor, calculate a boiling point corresponding to the measured concentration of the processing liquid, and control the output of the processing liquid heating unit, based on the boiling point and the measured temperature of the processing liquid.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A substrate liquid processing apparatus that processes a substrate using a processing liquid, the apparatus comprising:
 a processing liquid bath configured to store the processing liquid therein; 
 a processing liquid heater configured to heat the processing liquid; 
 a controller configured to control the processing liquid heater; and 
 a temperature sensor, a concentration sensor, and an atmospheric pressure sensor connected to the controller, 
 wherein the controller is configured to: 
 measure a concentration of the processing liquid with the concentration sensor to obtain a measured concentration, 
 measure a temperature of the processing liquid with the temperature sensor to obtain a first measured temperature, 
 calculate a boiling point corresponding to the measured concentration of the processing liquid to obtain a calculated boiling point, 
 correct the calculated boiling point based on an ambient atmospheric pressure measured with the atmospheric pressure sensor to obtain a corrected boiling point, 
 reduce an output of the processing liquid heater to a predetermined constant output when the first measured temperature of the processing liquid is within a predetermined range below the corrected boiling point for a predetermined time to prevent the processing liquid from reaching the corrected boiling point; 
 measure a temperature of the processing liquid after the predetermined time to obtain a second measured temperature; and 
 vary an output of the processing liquid heater based only on the second measured temperature of the processing liquid as compared to a fixed predetermined temperature corresponding to a predetermined concentration until the second measured temperature of the processing liquid rises to reach the fixed predetermined temperature, 
 wherein the calculated boiling point and the corrected boiling point both increase as the processing liquid is heated by the processing liquid heater, and 
 wherein the processing liquid is configured to be supplied to a substrate at the fixed predetermined temperature and the predetermined concentration. 
 
     
     
       2. A substrate liquid processing method comprising:
 heating a processing liquid stored in a processing liquid bath using a processing liquid heater; 
 measuring a concentration and a temperature of the processing liquid to obtain a measured concentration and a first measured temperature, respectively; 
 calculating a boiling point corresponding to the measured concentration of the processing liquid to obtain a calculated boiling point; 
 correcting the calculated boiling point based on an ambient atmospheric pressure to obtain a corrected boiling point; 
 reducing an output of the processing liquid heater to a predetermined constant output when the first measured temperature of the processing liquid is within a predetermined range below the corrected boiling point for a predetermined time to prevent the processing liquid from reaching the corrected boiling point; 
 measuring a temperature of the processing liquid after the predetermined time to obtain a second measured temperature; 
 varying an output of the processing liquid heater based only on the second measured temperature of the processing liquid as compared to a fixed predetermined temperature corresponding to a predetermined concentration until the second measured temperature of the processing liquid rises to reach the fixed predetermined temperature; and 
 processing a substrate with the processing liquid, the processing liquid being at the fixed predetermined temperature and the predetermined concentration, 
 wherein the calculated boiling point and the corrected boiling point both increase as the processing liquid is heated by the processing liquid heater. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 repeating the measuring of the concentration and the temperature of the processing liquid and the calculating the boiling point when the difference between the first measured temperature and the calculated boiling point is higher than a predetermined difference. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the ambient atmospheric pressure is measured in real time. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the ambient atmospheric pressure is measured using an atmospheric pressure sensor. 
     
     
       6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed, causes a computer to control a substrate liquid processing method, the method comprising:
 heating a processing liquid stored in a processing liquid bath using a processing liquid heater; 
 measuring a concentration and a temperature of the processing liquid to obtain a measured concentration and a first measured temperature, respectively; 
 calculating a boiling point corresponding to the measured concentration of the processing liquid to obtain a calculated boiling point; 
 correcting the calculated boiling point based on an ambient atmospheric pressure to obtain a corrected boiling point; 
 reducing an output of the processing liquid heater to a predetermined constant output when the first measured temperature of the processing liquid is within a predetermined range below the corrected boiling point for a predetermined time to prevent the processing liquid from reaching the corrected boiling point; 
 measuring a temperature of the processing liquid after the predetermined time to obtain a second measured temperature; and 
 varying an output of the processing liquid heater based only on the second measured temperature of the processing liquid as compared to a fixed predetermined temperature corresponding to a predetermined concentration until the second measured temperature of the processing liquid rises to reach the fixed predetermined temperature; 
 processing a substrate with the processing liquid, the processing liquid being at the fixed predetermined temperature and the predetermined concentration, 
 wherein the calculated boiling point and the corrected boiling point both increase as the processing liquid is heated by the processing liquid heater.